Unlike any other
Find the unseen. Find the extraordinary. Every year, at stone markets around the world, Cartier experts and designers search for stones that really stand out. Jacqueline Karachi, High Jewelry Creative Director, deciphers the mysteries of four exceptional creations.
LANDSCAPE MATERIAL
“To conjure opacity and transparency, mineral and precious stones, earth and light, around a 77.27-carat matrix opal. This is the intention of the designer who makes it the center of a spectacular bracelet and encircles it with blue and violet sapphires, garnets and diamonds. Side by side, the gems interact, and the material, where the mother rock appears, resonates with telluric harmonies.”
STONES WITH EMOTION
“This ring’s story begins in a stone market. A designer from the Design Studio spots a beautiful cushion-cut Siamese ruby of 8.20 carats with a rare brilliance, but, strangely enough, it’s very flat and almost lacking a little depth… She couldn’t make up her mind, but the next day, back at the same dealer, a K VVS1 rose-cut diamond of 4.01 carats catches her eye; it has a flat shape, just like the ruby. Her designer’s eye immediately sees the pairing. Placed on top of one another, the magic happens; the two gems reveal themselves in an incredible interplay of reflections and harmony.”
BURIED SECRETS
“These materials trapped in the crystal, called ‘inclusions,’ attest to the naturalness of a stone. They are the witnesses of its creation, telling of the miracle that saw it being born in the depths of our planet, several million years ago. Their shapes, often evocative, reveal an unexpected poetry. With emeralds, we refer to gardens, as on this 140.21 carat cabochon-cut cushion emerald from Colombia. Here, we believe we can see the top of a tree, and a constellation of stars. These images, drawn by nature like an artist, depict a world in itself. An invitation to explore.”
LIGHT AND COLOR
“This 0.92-carat fancy violet-gray diamond is an extremely rare specimen from the Argyle mine in Australia. Famous for its red, violet and deep pink diamonds, this mine closed in 2020.
Today, there are no other known mines that produce gems with the same kind of color. This makes these diamonds among the rarest in the world. In a tiny stone like this, the power and presence of color are greater than the volume. The ring’s structure has been designed to give it an aura: it radiates, resonates, like a pulse. The ‘colored halo’ that multiplies the stone’s waves is diffused by half-moon diamonds.”
